Writers love to write it. Readers love to read it. Actors love to say it. Audiences love to hear it. Great dialogue is a crucial factor in making your characters leap off the page and attracting A-list talent to a script. But writing sparkling dialogue that entertains the reader is the ultimate challenge for writers who otherwise may have solid script elements, and yet are bound to fail because of flawed dialogue.
If you want to learn anything, you study how the masters of the craft do it, and when it comes to dialogue, Aaron Sorkin is at the top of his game. Known for his rapid-fire and witty dialogue, the verbal fencing and snappy put-downs that have earned the label “Sorkinesque,” his dazzling dialogue has made him one of the most acclaimed screenwriters in Hollywood.
Join UCLA instructor and bestselling author Karl Iglesias as he deconstructs Aaron Sorkin’s scenes and dialogue, and shows you how you can skillfully apply his dialogue techniques to spice up your dialogue.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
– The four essential functions of dialogue (and why most writers focus on only one)
– The only two requirements you need to write good dialogue
– The crucial difference between active and passive dialogue
– How to get to the core of a character
– How to weave in exposition without boring the reader
– How to add depth, emotion and meaning through subtext
– The most common dialogue problems and how Sorkin fixes them
– How Sorkin begins and ends his scenes
– How Sorkin finds inspiration
